Full Steam Ahead: Easy Steamed Dinners The Family Will Love

Steam Ovens Are Hot Stuff

Are you a budding home chef? A steam oven will give you that succulent sous-vide taste – without the water bath – and a raft of other great benefits. “This exciting cooking technique comes straight from the pro chef kitchen and chimes perfectly with our growing appetite for healthier home cooking,” says Tania Grillinzoni, The Good Guys Buyer – Cooking & Kitchenware. “Because steam ovens combine steam with hot air, they cut down on cooking time and keep your food moist, scrapping the need for extra fats and oils, while also locking in nutrients and flavours.”

The Advantages Of Steam Cooking

So, they offer a shorter wait to get dinner on the table (tick); healthier meals (tick); and enhanced flavours (tick). What else can these amazing appliances do? Well, they’re also brilliant for reviving last night’s pasta bake (and all your other leftovers). And because steaming is so gentle, food retains its shape and colour (meals will not only taste better, but also look picture-perfect at your next dinner party!). Plus, more moisture means less baked-on grime, making steam ovens easy to clean – especially if you snap up a model with self-cleaning, pyrolytic technology.

Shop The Best Steam Ovens

Embrace the power of steam with these 5 top steam oven buys:

From sensational spuds to oh-so-tender steaks, the Electrolux 60cm Pyrolytic Oven is your kitchen champion: it optimises cooking conditions, adds steam if needed, has a Smart Food Probe for spot-on roasts every time – plus it can clean itself afterwards! 

The Westinghouse 60cm Electric Oven boasts Easy Bake + Steam cooking functions for a better rise on your cakes and a crispier crust on your pizzas. Switch to AirFry mode to enjoy irresistible fried flavours with less oil (and guilt!).  

Enjoy the ease of a conventional oven and all the benefits of steam cooking in one cutting-edge appliance with the Miele 60cm XL Steam Combi Oven. Keep tabs on that rack of lamb from anywhere with Wi-Fi capability.

Live to entertain? The versatile Asko 60cm Combination Steam Oven has a whopping 73L capacity for all your catering needs and a Stage Cooking function, so you can steam, roast and grill any star dish for that pro chef polish.

With a 50L capacity, the Smeg 45cm Linea Compact Speed Oven - Black is ideal for smaller households and has 12 cooking functions, from Air Fry to BBQ (say hello to next level BBQ chicken!).

What Can You Cook In A Steam Oven?

Anything! A steam oven is one of the most versatile kitchen appliances around. Bake delicious cakes or bread that won’t crack, succulent roasts with a crispy finish (and unbelievable crackling), or decadent pastry creations. Even poached eggs and risotto. With a steam oven, you can level up all those family classics and explore a whole new world of recipes – especially if you choose a combination steam oven, which lets you cook conventionally, too.

Other Ways To Master Steam Cuisine

Budget won’t stretch to a steam oven? Join the steam movement with these 2 must-have benchtop appliances:

Hit your five a day easily with the Russell Hobbs Cook @ Home Food Steamer. Three convenient steam baskets can cook rice, vegetables or fish at the same time, with removable bowls to pour fresh-steamed food directly onto your plate.

Cooking whole fish, feisty curries, shellfish, or steamed treats like sticky date pudding is quick and easy in the Cuisinart CookFresh Digital Glass Steamer. It hits full steam temperature in less than 30 seconds.

Steam sensations To Cook For Your Family

Go full steam ahead with these tasty recipes your lot will love:

Steam Roast Lamb Shoulder with Garlic Mash

On the lookout for time-saving meal hacks? This clever steam oven recipe delivers two delicious dishes in one: a meltingly tender lamb roast, and a hearty shepherd’s pie you can serve at a later date. 

Recipes by Westinghouse

Preparation time: 40 mins

Cooking time: 3 hours

Serves 6 (twice)

Ingredients

Lamb

• 2 lamb shoulders, bone in
• 8 French shallots, halved
• 1 bunch rosemary
• 300ml red wine
• 400g crushed tomato
• 500ml beef stock
• 300g Swiss brown mushrooms
• Salt and pepper

Garlic mash

• 1.5kg of potatoes, peeled, cut into 4cm chunks
• 1 head of garlic, cut in half
• 100g salted butter
• 2/3 cup milk, warmed

Gravy

• 50g butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 cup pan juices

Gremolata

• 2/3 cup curly parsley, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
• 1 orange, zested   

Method

Lamb

1. Pre-heat Westinghouse 60cm Electric Oven to 130°C on a steam bake function.
2. In a large roasting dish, heat 1 tbsp olive oil on the stovetop over medium high heat.
3. Brown the lamb, skin-side down, until deep golden.
4. Set aside.
5. Add the French shallots, cut-side down, along with the rosemary, and fry for 3 minutes.
6. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, then turn off heat.
7. Add the stock and tomatoes and nestle the lamb shoulders back in the pan, skin-side down.
8. Season well with salt and pepper.
9. Place into the steam oven and steam roast for 2 hours.
10. After 2 hours, remove the pan and turn the lamb so it is skin-side up. Change setting to 150°C steam roast, and cook for a further 1 hour.
11. For the last 30 minutes, add the mushrooms around the meat to cook in the pan.
12. When cooked, the meat should be tender enough to pull from the bone with a fork. Add one lamb shoulder and vegetables to a serving plate and keep warm. Reserve 1 cup pan juices to make gravy, and set aside remaining pan juices, remaining lamb shoulder and some shallots to make shepherd’s pie.

Garlic mash

1. Boil potatoes and garlic in heavily salted water for 20 minutes, then drain.
2. Mash potatoes with garlic (skin now removed),  milk and butter. Serve half with the lamb and save half for the shepherd’s pie.

Gravy

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour.
2. Fry softly to make a paste, then add the reserved pan juices, whisking until smooth.

Gremolata

1. Combine the ingredients and sprinkle over dish before serving with a side of green beans.

Super Speedy Shepherd’s Pie

Shred the second lamb shoulder and toss in remaining pan juices and onions and freeze until needed. Do the same with half of the mashed potato.

1. Simmer 4 peeled, sliced (1cm-thick) carrots in 500ml of beef stock for 10 mins.
2. Combine with thawed lamb meat, 2 cups frozen peas and 1/4 cup flour.
3. Put pie filling into an ovenproof baking dish and top with the thawed mashed potato.
4. Bake at 180°C for 40 mins until the meat is bubbling and the potato top starts to crisp up.
5. Top with 1/2 cup grated parmesan and bake for a further 15 mins.
6. Serve with a side salad.

Prosciutto Pizza

Nothing beats the satisfaction of making your own pizzas from scratch – and a burst of steam will give you Italian-style crispy crusts that are sure to wow any crowd.  

Recipe by Electrolux 

Preparation time: 20 minutes (plus 40 minutes proving)

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 7g dried yeast
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 400ml warm water
• 500g baker’s flour, plus extra, to dust
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 50g prosciutto
• 1/2 small zucchini, finely sliced
• 1/4 capsicum, finely sliced
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• 100g mozzarella, sliced
• 3–4 sprigs fresh basil leaves

Method

1. Pre-heat Electrolux 60cm Pyrolytic Oven to 30°C, proving function.
2. Place yeast, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Add warm water, stir, and set aside for 5 minutes. Put flour into the bowl of a stand mixer, and once the yeast and water mix begins to foam, add to the flour.
3. Mix on low speed with a dough hook for 10 minutes. Once mixed, remove and briefly knead on a floured bench for 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a clean, oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Place dough in pre-heated oven for 40 minutes, or until it doubles in size.
4. When the dough has risen, remove from the oven and place onto a floured work surface, then knead for 1 minute and divide the dough into four equal portions.
5. Pre-heat oven to 230°C, in steam roast mode. Dust a large flat baking tray with a little flour. Roll out one portion of dough on a clean lightly floured surface to about 30cm round and 3mm thick. Transfer to a tray.
6. Spread an even layer of tomato paste over the base, top with some of the prosciutto, zucchini, capsicum, olives and mozzarella. Cook in pre-heated oven for 12–15 minutes until golden and crispy.
7. Remove from oven, sprinkle basil leaves on top, and serve. Repeat with remaining dough, or freeze, portioned, for up to 8 weeks

Are you ready to introduce steam cooking to your repertoire? Visit The Good Guys in-store or online to explore a huge range of steam ovens and small kitchen appliances. Plus read our expert guide to upgrading to a steam oven!